A comprehensive, state-of-the-art synthesis of biogeochemical dynamics and the impact of human alterations at major river-coastal interfaces for advanced students and researchers.

No realm on Earth elicits thoughts of paradise more than the tropics. The tropical marine realm is special in myriad ways and for many reasons from seas of higher latitude, in housing iconic habitats such as coral reefs, snow white beaches, crystal clear waters, mangrove forests, extensive and rich seagrass meadows and expansive river deltas, such as the exemplar, the Amazon. But the tropics also has an even more complex side: tropical waters give rise to cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons, and unique oceanographic phenomena including the El Niño- Southern Oscillation which affects global climate patterns. Tropical Marine Ecology documents the structure and function of tropical marine populations, communities, and ecosystems in relation to environmental factors including climate patterns and climate change, and patterns of oceanographic phenomena such as tides and currents and major oceanographic features, as well as chemical and geological drivers. The book focuses on estuarine, coastal, continental shelf and open ocean ecosystems. The first part of the book deals with the climate, physics, geology, and chemistry of the tropical marine environment. The second section focuses on the origins, diversity, biogeography, and the structure and distribution of tropical biota. The third part explores the rates and patterns of primary and secondary production, and their drivers, and the characteristics of pelagic and benthic food webs. The fourth part examines how humans are altering tropical ecosystems via unsustainable fisheries, the decline and loss of habitat and fragmentation, Further, pollution is altering an earth already in the throes of climate change. Tropical Marine Ecology is an authoritative and comprehensive introduction to tropical marine ecology for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students. It is also a rich resource and reference work for researchers and professional managers in marine science.

This book highlights various aspects of geochemical and geological processes. In brief, it facilitates to understand the geochemical behavior of major, trace and rare earth elements in rocks to identify the magmatic processes involved in present-day magma generation and their relation to global tectonic regimes as well as geothermal studies. Therefore, the book provides a comprehensive view of the generation of magma types (mafic to felsic in composition) and their role in the petrogenesis. The book also covers the development of new geosoftware to effectively process the geochemical data before its interpretation.

The goal of this research topic was to motivate innovative research that blurs traditional disciplinary and geographical boundaries. As the scientific community continues to gain momentum and knowledge about how the natural world functions, it is increasingly important that we recognize the interconnected nature of earth systems and embrace the complexities of ecosystem transitions. We are pleased to present this body of work, which embodies the spirit of research spanning across the terrestrial-aquatic continuum, from mountains to the sea. Publisher’s note: In this 2nd edition, the following article has been updated: Sawakuchi HO, Neu V, Ward ND, Barros MdLC, Valerio AM, Gagne-Maynard W, Cunha AC, Less DFS, Diniz JEM, Brito DC, Krusche AV and Richey JE (2017) Carbon Dioxide Emissions along the Lower Amazon River. Front. Mar. Sci. 4:76. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00076

In the 8th book of Dr. Ahuja’s innovative “Advances in Agricultural Systems Modeling” series, authors give a look into the future of climatesmart agricultural systems, emphasizing the integration of soil, weather, vegetation and management information to predict relevant agro-ecosystem processes. Expansion of data availability, improvement of sensors, and computational power have opened opportunities in modeling and exploration of management impact. Authors give a background on model development and explain soil, plant, and climate processes and their interactions that encompass the wide range of applications of simulation models to address challenges in managing our resources and complex agricultural systems.

Humans have had a long relationship with the ebb and flow of tides on river deltas around the world. The fertile soils of river deltas provided early human civilizations with a means of farming crops and obtaining seafood from the highly productive marshes and shallow coastal waters associated with deltas. However, this relationship has at times been both nurturing and tumultuous for the development of early civilizations. The vicissitudes of seasonal changes in river flooding events as well as frequently shifting deltaic soils made life for these early human settlements challenging. These natural transient processes that affect the supply of sediments to deltas today are in many ways very similar to what they have been over the millennia of human settlements. But something else has been altered in the natural rhythm of these cycles. The massive expansion of human populations around the world in both the lower and upper drainage basins of these large rivers have changed the manner in which sediments and water are delivered to deltas. Because of the high density of human populations found in these regions, humans have developed elaborate hydrological engineering schemes in an attempt to "tame" these deltas. The goal of this book is to provide information on the historical relationship between humans and deltas that will hopefully encourage immediate preparation for coastal management plans in response to the impending inundation of major cities, as a result of global change around the world.

Environmental devices help in monitoring the collection of one or more measurements that are used to access the status of an environment. Today, environmental monitoring and analytical methods are among the most rapidly developing branches of analysis. The functionalization of nanomaterials in the field of environmental science has increasing importance with regards to the fabrication of devices. Functionalized nanomaterials reformulate new materials and advanced characteristics for improved application in comparison to old fashion materials and open an opportunity for the development of devices for introducing new technology and techniques for monitoring environmental challenges. The monitoring of these environmental challenges in advances have direct impact on health and sustainability. Functionalized nanomaterials have different mechanical, absorption, optical or electrical properties than original nanomaterials. In fact, major utilization of nanomaterials occurs in their functionalized forms, which are very different from the parent material. This handbook provides an overview of the different state-of-the-art materials, devices and environmental applications of functionalized nanomaterials. In addition, the information offers a platform for ongoing research in the field of environmental science and device fabrication. The main objective of this book is to cover the major areas focusing on the functionalization of nanomaterials, device fabrication along with different techniques and environmental applications of functionalized nanomaterials-based devices. This is an important reference source for materials scientists, engineers and environmental scientsts who are looking to increase their understanding of how functionalized nanomaterial-based devices are being used for environmental monitoring applications. - Helps the reader to understand the basic principles of functionalization of nanomaterials - Highlights fabrication and characterization methods for functionalized nanomaterials-based environmental monitoring devices - Assesses the major challenges of creating devices using functionalized nanomaterials on a mass scale